The battle to save an ancient kauri tree from execution-by -property developer is over: Something is still standing…and it’s certainly not the leg of the Auckland City Council.

For several days the nation has been transfixed on the epic David and Goliath story of one community’s revolt over consent given to chop down a native kauri and rimu tree thought to be hundreds of years old.

The consent - ticked off by the council for the land owners, a couple of architects who wanted to build a home there - had not been publicly notified.

But when it all eventually came out, people living both nearby the site in Auckland’s western suburb of Titirangi and far further afield, decided to go out on a limb.

Enter Michael Tavares, a well-spoken Waiheke Island local, who upon hearing about the trees’...

With tuna stocks in trouble and too many fishing boats chasing what's left, reports of new vessels are a cause for alarm. The global fishing fleet is estimated to be two and a half times the size needed to sustainably fish our oceans, yet last month Albacora leased yet another ship, adding to their already bloated tuna fleet that includes some of the world's biggest tuna fishing vessels. We can only hope it doesn't take the same attitude to fisheries rules as its thieving sister ship Albacora Uno. Now Echebastar is unleashing a brand new US$39 million, 90 meter, purse seiner on the Indian Ocean, a new monster boat.

The Indian Ocean is one of the least regulated tuna frontiers, there isn't even a reliable estimate of how much fishing capacity is out there. French company Sapmer is on some s... Read more >

A highlight of Waitangi Day this year for me was the growing swell of people fighting for the rights of Aotearoa and speaking out against the oil giants now trying to make themselves at home in our waters.

Discussions about community-based solutions to climate change went well into the night.

It was day four of the hikoi that had started in New Zealand’s northern-most town, Cape Reinga, and came to a powerful climax in Waitangi, the very spot where the treaty with Britain was signed on the the 6th of February 175 years previously.

The concept of the Treaty of Waitangi or Te Tiriti o Waitangi has always been a highly contentious part of New Zealand’s history.

But thanks to its significance, the annual commemoration of Waitangi Day has often acted as a stage for individuals and community gr... Read more >

After people from all over New Zealand flooded the councillors with email, text messages and phone calls calling on them to say NO to deep sea drilling, a big crowd turned up to the first council meeting of 2015. It was standing room only and the councillors were in no doubt that this is an issue of great concern.

Greenpeace was granted speaking rights so I took the opportunity to present oil spill modelling demonstrating the potentially devastating impacts on West Coast beaches... Read more >

Exploration and drilling could happen over an enormous offshore area off the West coast of the North Island stretching from Taranaki to Northland, as well as vast tracts off the East coast of the North and South Islands all the way down past Bluff.

Councils and iwi authorities around the country have been invited to tell the Government what they think of the drilling plans.

In so doing, however, they've exposed the Spanish government to be fossil fuel sycophants while leaving questions unanswered about the company's conduct during their oil exploration operation in the pristine waters of the Spanish islands.

Two of the auxiliary ships that were supporting the drilling platform Rowan Renaissance quietly left the area in December. No surprise there, support vessels generally move around without much fanfare. What is surprising is how taken aback the Spanish government was and then how they reacted:

It is time for Ocean Lovers worldwide to celebrate! After years of political foot-dragging, and four hectic days of negotiations at the United Nations, a breakthrough came in the wee hours of Saturday morning, 24 January: governments around the world agreed to develop a legally-binding treaty to protect marine life beyond national territorial waters. With this historic decision, they began the process of setting rules to create ocean sanctuaries and protect the high seas – the vast areas of the ocean that belong to you, me and everyone. The agreement could also make it mandatory to conduct environmental impact assessments before human activities are allowed to take place in the vast ocean commons.

This significant progress would not have come without a passionate call for high seas prote... Read more >